Within The Dark

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Well, if you're promising." Val said with a smile before gently turning and putting her down onto the ground. She stumbled for half a second before catching herself, her knees likely being weak from having been tossed around the current.

He ran his finger down her spine for the moment. "As long as I get my way."

They were apparently in the clear now, he doubted that any of the cultists would jump into the basin, and if they did...well they probably wouldn't last. He shifted slightly and looked around the cave. The chamber itself wasn't really anything noteworthy, just a large rounded cavern that had likely been carved millions of years ago. Bright blue fungus hung off of the ceiling, equally luminescent mushrooms spotting all around the cave floor.

They gave off a pale light, bright enough to see but not bright enough to give any real detail.

"Alright." He said with a heavy breath. "What the fuck is that thing."

It was a good question.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"You'll get something, Big Guy." she managed to quip, amused and shaking her head at the man. The innuendo couldn't be missed, but for now they were riding off their high. Honestly, she wasn't still certain that the cultists wouldn't come down the underground river themselves. This was no time to dawdle.

Legs felt like liquid as she half stumbled to gather her bearings, knees buckling. One hand managed to fall right against his bicep, fingers digging as she steadied herself.

"Sorry." came her apology, her hand moving against the firm muscle there. Okay, all real. Wow. Right. Wait, what was he talking about?

"OH!" flicking the wet locks of hair away from her face, the Clawdite brought it up. She slid it off her hand, bringing the fairly delicate looking gauntlet for him to see.

"Guess this is it." eyes went flickering over the flowing river.

"We need to keep moving... if there is anything we found out about these Cultists, is that they are determined to die for it."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val looked at the gauntlet for a moment, inspecting it. His eyes locked on the piece of metal with considerable concentration, face turning into a scrunched expression as though he were deep in thought. Orange and Blue darted over the flimsy metal, shifting and looking over it with the concentration of an expert of a hundred years. Slowly Val nodded, scratching his bearded chin for a moment and then making a slight 'ah' noise.

"Well..." Val said quietly. "Kark if I know."

In truth he had no idea what he was looking at. "Does your buyer even know what this thing is?"

That was an odd question perhaps. People wanted to get rare things even when they didn't know what it was, modern art was a fantastic example of just that. There were paintings and sculptures in the galaxy that made absolutely no sense and yet Val knew they still paid millions of credits for them, so maybe this was the same story. Some rich guy wanted the gauntlet because he'd read about it in some book, and thus he'd sent Ryssa to find it.

He frowned, turning and looking around the cave until he spotted a tunnel at the far end.

"There." Val said pointing towards the exit, sliding a hand around the small of Ryssa's back to urge her forward.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Well, for one thing I intend to find out." Ryssa muttered under her breath. If there was one thing she disliked in a contract was having the employer miss out on a few key details she needed when doing a dig. Taking the gauntlet she paused and swiveled her gaze back at Val. While the pressure of his hand at the small of her back encouraged her to move forward, eyes eyes reflected concern.

"Wait." a pause and then she took a step forward. Her free hand came up from her side, moving towards the man to brush over his chest. Wait a minute, didn't he...

Fingers went tracing along, searching for where she was sure the bolt had lodged itself earlier.

"What in stars sake.." it was gone.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Yeah." Val said knowing exactly what she was on about.

"It healed." The Warrior shrugged, he normally healed pretty quickly anyway, but this was something that was even new to him. Usually a wound like that took him a couple of days to fully seal again, but this time...well it had closed in a matter of minutes. It was admittedly pretty odd, but they had already learned that the women of this cult worshiped the waters within the basin, so he'd simply figured that was what had done it. Not really a large leap of faith. "The water I think."

He pointed to the river. "Maybe some kind of kolto or bacta in it."

The murals had told them a lot about these women and their cult, the water, what Moridin had done, but oddly enough, nothing about the Gauntlet. That was what was really the important thing, finding out what the hell that thing did. They didn't even know if it was dangerous or not.

Could it kill? Harm them in some way?

"Come on." He urged. "You said it yourself. I know you're concerned about my getting marred before you get your chance, but we're still being chased."

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Wise guy." However that started to click more things into play within Ryssa's mind. More holes being plugged. The puzzle pieces coming together. Either way, they were both right. They had to keep moving.

"Sec," a hand came up to have him stay put in front of her while the other brought down her visor. Good thing that it was water proof. Otherwise she'd have a very expensive hair band instead of her HUD. It came online and after a few selections, the map of the mine came up.

"Okay..." her eyes traced the area to find out where they were at relative to the map. "Looks like we are about a kilometer under the surface. " a pause. If that entrance was here then...

"That entrance should technically take us near Mine Shaft Three." swinging the visor up, gold eyes stared up at Val.

"Let's go." slowly, she began to take backward steps. "We can mull over the gauntlet and hope the cultists don't try to place any more holes in our skins."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val nodded and began to follow along, she spun around and began to wander down the cavern towards the tunnel. Part of him wondered if they shouldn't just destroy the gauntlet. Smashing it against a wall and repeatedly stomping on it seemed like a rather good idea at the moment. The cultists would likely be angry, so would Ryssa's employer, but...well the thing had already been more trouble than it was worth and from the way that it gave off a feeling of dread he couldn't help but think it was the better option.

He glanced towards Ryssa. For some reason he thought that she wouldn't agree with that assessment. Perhaps she'd argue that it was a piece of history, perhaps she'd argue that it was her next payday, either way Val thought she wouldn't let him simply smashing the thing. He frowned slightly and considered doing it any way. She likely couldn't stop him, and in all honesty...it was the best course of action that he could see.

"So..." Val said slowly, still pondering. "Where are you from?"

It was the first personal question he'd asked her, odd since at the beginning of the night he'd nearly auctioned off her ass.

They had time to walk through the darkness however, and he was no longer dying so that really helped his conversationalist skill.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

The petite woman gave a flick of her cerulean hand to toss the wet strands of long indigo hair behind her shoulder. That pixie, angular face darted back to look at him. A brow arched.

"I wander from place to place." she said. Which was a fragment of the truth. Being condemned and chased off of her homeworld due to her species meant that the woman wasn't inclined to detail exactly where she was born or from.

"But I work based off Coruscant." there was an academy there she regularly worked with. "Jobs here and there. Some private some public."

They made it into the cavern shaft, the sound of water dripping and the moist atmosphere rather stifling.

"You?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val looked down at her. "I asked where you were from."

He clarified.

"Not where you work out of." Really Val shouldn't have been criticizing any answers to any questions. He bounced and redirected away from anything asked of him like an expert politician. It was something he'd learned to do years ago. Too many answered questions lead to to many secrets coming out, too many secrets coming out lead to him being thrown into a jail cell. People didn't take kindly to a humanoid who could snap their neck and live twice as long as them.

It was weird how bigoted some people were in this day and age.

"Though I suppose I can go first, but you shouldn't expect that later tonight." He said with a sigh and a quick smirk. "I'm from the outer rim. I don't think they even name the planet on most galactic Maps. I know it as Virtih though."

Not likely that she'd ever heard of it.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Well he was picking up on the fact she wasn't trying to divulge that information. That he clarified and wanted her to actually answer it made her slow her step. It was barely noticeable, but it would be evident that it was a sore topic for her. Most were able to figure out she was a Clawdite by naming her homeworld. Typically the prejudices came out shortly thereafter. Changling, they called her. Among other rather uncouth things. Things that still made her stomach turn.


"So sure? That's what they all say." Ryssa picked up on the humor quickly. She wanted to move past the focus on her. " Virtih?" he was right, she didn't quite know about that planet at all.

"No, haven't heard of it." she admitted. "What's it known for?" keeping the conversation focused on him would be best. All the while, the Clawdite scanned and checked their surroundings, making sure they were going the right direction. The further away they went from the shrine, the less likelihood of traps.

Well, one hoped.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Getting information out of people who don't want to talk about things." Val said the words with such a straight face that it was hard to tell whether or not he was being serious.

He wasn't of course.

Virith was known for...well absolutely nothing. The planet was home to about ten thousand colonists in total, most of them concentrated around the main city...Virith. His own family had lived further away on a different continent, self contained around a small village of about a thousand people. They had all been farmers and all of them had lived in peace without ever touching the outside world save for the rare visitors from vendors that had come to the capital.

It wasn't really anything to talk about it, one of the reasons he didn't mind sharing. No one was going to go to his home, hell most people couldn't even find the damn place unless they had been there before. Virith was so tiny and insignificant that it hardly even mattered at all.

Save for the fact that it mattered to him.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A half snort followed from the woman, giving a roll of her eyes as she wryly added, "Does that come by offering men the chance to grope a woman's ass?" rather crude, but considering he'd been the one to suggest it to the miner in order to get the map and the mine information, well justified.

"Or is that only you?" she tossed him a sassy look over her shoulder, rather amusing considering how tiny the woman was. As she walked, she began to notice that the cavern's ceiling was slowly angling low. Soon enough Val would have to scrunch his shoulders down so he wouldn't have to hit his head.

"So why are you here?" it couldn't just be the random desire to stop by at this planet. "Tipped off about the Sith artifacts mister lore quester?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"I came to find out where you're from." He said in that same plain voice.

It was clear that he wouldn't be removed from the subject. Stubbornness was a trait that he had been born with. His parents had often compared him to a tree, Aerith had said that he was the most stubborn fool in the galaxy. They had all probably been right, but when Val wanted something...well he generally kept after it until he finally got it. That was how he had worked for most of his life, it was an important facet of who he was as a person.

See something, go after it.

"You should just tell me." Val said with a shrug. "Or do I have to tie you up and interrogate you?"

The suggestion came as he stepped passed her, a small smirk and a wink going along with it.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Maybe you do." Ryssa tossed back, lifting her chin in matching stubborn defiance. The corner of her mouth twitched, a hint of a smile. This guy...

"But seeing as there is a lack of rope," a snap of her fingers came next, as if to say 'Gee, so sad, too bad.' Her shoulders even rose up and down with a half shrug, humoring him with more sass that had been known to get her into trouble on occasion.

"Guess that will have to wait." Up ahead, there was a faint light. It glinted off the veins of crystals that lined the walls of the cavern. They were pale blue striated with copper. This mine had several different types of raw ores and a few rare crystals.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He smiled for half a second. She had a point of course, there was no rope present and thus tying her up would be rather difficult, but that didn't mean he was about to give up. Besides sheer stubbornness however there was an ulterior motive here. Ryssa was hiding something. Val had no idea what that something was, no idea if it was dangerous or if it would mean she was about to betray him. Either way however he was no fool, and he wasn't about to let this issue die.

Of course, his suspicions didn't mean he would get hostile just yet...well in a way.

Val eyed her for a half a second as she looked up ahead. She saw the slight gasp of her lips, the widening of her eyes as she saw the glittering sparks of raw ore. It was a beautiful sight, amazing really, but Val had seen it a hundred times before. He saw Ryssa distracted, and within an instant he moved. Val was beginning to hunger, but he was still fast, still strong. Before Ryssa could react Val snatched her up, one hand's fingers wrapping around her wrist, the other sliding around her back as he suddenly lifted and pressed her against the smooth cave wall.

He pinned her hands above her head, settling the weight of his body against her as he slowly leaned his head into her neck.

"Who says I need rope?" Val said with a smirk.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]




He moved so fast. One second Ryssa was admiring the glinting ore lines of copper along the cavern wall; the next she just about had the wind knocked out of her and felt the hard press of rock at her back and all male at her front. Her gold eyes went wide, pupils dilating at the onset of adrenaline rush and surge of something a bit more primal. Ice and fire swooped down before a hot trail of breath ran down the delicate cerulean curve of her neck. Her heart jump started, and that flutter at her throat increased when hips naturally cradled the man that loomed over her.


Nope, he most certainly did NOT need rope. There was a slight hunger to his gaze, in the way those dual colored eyes went glancing up from under a thick fringe of dark lashes. A mischievousness that had suddenly switched on from one second to the next, a promise in one hand and a dare in another.


Ohhh boy.


Swallowing hard, Ryssa locked her gaze to his, trying her best to stop the awareness rolling in her belly from reflecting too much. This is what happened when you mixed near death experiences and a healthy libido. In her minds eye she was already picturing how this would go. She wasn't a changling without some perks but even then, Ryssa couldn't quite let go complexly. That made her vulnerable. That left her in a series of one night stands and quick departures because if she fell asleep, her true form revealed itself. She'd already been subject to inquisition and prejudice. The Clawdite didn't need it from a lover, no matter how temporary.


“You say that to all the girls?” She shot back, figuring a quip was more than enough for banter. A flex of her hands came next. Yeah, he was quite strong. The realization at how quickly he managed to get her in a vulnerable position was startling.


“Or just to the ones after you've had close brushes with death?” Yet yet the banter didn't stop the husky rasp in her voice. It was a button pressed after all.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

She was still avoiding the question, but in truth Val hadn’t expected any less. It was more than clear she was hiding something now, though what it was he had no real idea.

He could feel the flex of her wrists against his hand, the sway of her hips against him as she tried to move and wiggle just a bit, testing him. For a second Val remained quiet, not saying anything as his free hand slowly slipped between them, fingers slowly manipulating cloth to give way until his digits brushed lightly against her belly.

”Not all of them.” Val answered with a small smirk as his hand slowly sailed upward. ”Just the ones that ask for it.”

A wide smirk crossed his face, but before she could answer Val leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

There was no question in his mind that she was hiding something, no question that Ryssa was desperately trying to keep a little detail of herself hidden. Perhaps it was unrelated to the Gauntlet, perhaps it didn’t even matter, but Val couldn’t take that risk. She could have been anyone, a murderer, a killer, for all he knew she was one of the cultists.

So he did what he did bests, he tempted her.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Lips crashed against hers, enveloping them in a probing kiss that prompted Ryssa to open her mouth. Warmth joined the sensation of a large hand traveling up her ribcage, and her breath caught in her throat when it traveled higher. Well, this was one way to burn up the adrenaline they'd both had pumping through their veins. Extra points for being a great kisser.

However, they still had cultists chasing after them. Staying here in the mineshafts was not the smartest of endevours, even if goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cold ran up and over her skin. So Ryssa kissed him back, indulging in a single stroke of tongues -- before she closed her mouth and tipped her face back to pull away.

"Tempting." she began, voice husky and low. "But those cultists are not going to quit so easily." as if in emphasis, a rumble the previously collapsing chamber resonated throughout the mineshaft.

"We have to go." She didn't look away, meeting him eye to eye.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val was hardly suicidal.

He was well aware that the cultists were likely still coming, well aware that they were likely waiting on the surface, and well aware that the longer they lingered here the more dangerous the situation became. Yet this was something he couldn't let go, it wasn't something that he could leave sitting. The simple truth was that he couldn't trust her. She was hiding something, and until he knew what that something was Val couldn't move forward with her.

"Well." Val began, his voice a low breath against her skin as his thumb and index gently came together. "Then you better answer my question."

The grip on her wrist eased just slightly, allowing her to slide down the wall and come to a rest against him. "Before they find us in such a compromising position."

Maybe it was a rather odd method of interrogation, but...well whatever worked. At least this way he seemed more an adrenaline junky than a man who didn't trust her. He was careful like that, pressing the buttons he wanted but never revealing too much. There was never any hostility in his tone, just want. It was calculated, perhaps even a little manipulative, but Val wouldn't just walk out of this cave to his death, and until she told him the truth he would keep pressing.

He had to.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Ohh bloody hell." it was a strangled murmur. Perhaps enough to draw a chuckle from the man who had her pinned against the wall.

Eyes went wide and the Clawdite couldn't help but give a strangled gasp. There was a distinct persistent press of his persistence in the act, prompting the woman to arch her spine. Whether it was to get closer or pull away was anyone's guess, it only made it a bit more difficult. Her fingers curled into her palms, cold meeting warmth upon cool flesh riddled with goosebumps. Part of her wanted him to stop as much as the other whispered to let him continue.

A game? Perhaps. A game of Nuna at least. Who would give in first? Did it matter? It did, to some degree, but when his lips went drifting over sensitive flesh in conjunction with the deliberate chart, it was difficult to hide what her traitorous body displayed.

Every part of Ryssa's mind was crying out that she should get herself out of this situation fast. But it was hard when he was making his point with actions and words. He was determined to find out her homeworld just as she was determined to not give it away.

Providence came in the most unlikely of manners; as Ryssa had stated earlier, the Cultists were not to be denied. The pounding of wet feet could be heard in the distance, but would either pay attention?